Readers reply: If you were prepping, what would your top five items be?

If you were prepping, what should beryllium your apical 5 things to hoard successful airy of the caller powerfulness outages successful Spain and Portugal? Alina Ahmad, Johannesburg

Send caller questions to nq@theguardian.com.

Readers reply

We unrecorded successful a wildfire country and were evacuated successful 2020 erstwhile fractional the municipality burned up. There is ne'er capable you tin bash to hole for each imaginable emergency. Electricity retired is not a large woody really, depending connected however agelong it lasts. Twenty 4 hours oregon less, you request immoderate benignant of lighting and batteries, thing to devour that doesn’t request to beryllium cooked oregon a tiny campy stove for heating things up. A cord to plug successful a compartment telephone successful your car truthful you tin get accusation connected what’s going on. Some drinking water.

If the energy is retired for longer past you request to see you volition not person a toilet. This is erstwhile it gets much uncomfortable. We didn’t person energy for a week and yet someway we are inactive alive. kiramango

A UPS (uninterruptible powerfulness supply) for the machine and a outer telephone for erstwhile the section compartment tract runs its batteries level (about 24 hours) and my 4G telephone dies for deficiency of signal. Socialismnow

The astir utile appliance is simply a tall, strong, able-bodied man, unless you hap to beryllium 1 already. It’s astonishing however galore problems that earnestly situation my five-foot-three aforesaid tin beryllium easy addressed by idiosyncratic who’s six feet gangly with a corresponding reach.

A car with capable substance to instrumentality america to Grandma and Granddad’s house, wherever they person an unfastened occurrence and a state cooker. We person neither.

Candles – and don’t hide matches unless 1 of you is simply a smoker. Better still, I person an ace battery-operated lantern which has a carrying grip and a level basal truthful you tin airy your mode anywhere. Spare batteries. Tinned food, but don’t hide dried milk.SpoilheapSurfer

I unrecorded successful Spain and was determination erstwhile the outage happened. The things I recovered astir utile were my vigor with star sheet and winding complaint handle, portable powerfulness presumption and star panel, cash, bottled water, caput torch and a state BBQ oven. Kpnuts888

Camping stove and gas, candles and matches, torches, wood for our stove, bottled water. Hugothecat

The blackout successful Spain and Portugal reminded maine of the request to see cash. RebChloBrown

I urge The Art of Eating done the Zombie Apocalypse: A Cookbook and Culinary Survival Guide (2014). OK, I’ll beryllium dormant earlier I negociate to excavation retired a basal cellar, physique a mud oven (all that London clay) and commencement cooking the plot pigeons but we person to bash our best. cambridgeLSE

Water, lentil atom cakes, nuts, caput torch, Roberts sports vigor (small capable to transportation successful pocket). Apart from the water, the nutrient is airy (in lawsuit I person to run/walk a agelong way) but sustaining, if the rescue enactment is delayed! monono

As a erstwhile Red Cross exigency unpaid successful London, I person experienced that events specified arsenic blackouts, state leaks and floods aren’t arsenic uncommon arsenic we would similar to think. I person a camping container arsenic a “go bag” containing:
toilet roll
soap
toothbrush and toothpaste
a alteration of clothes, walking shoes and a raincoat
a blanket
a first-aid kit with added blister plasters and h2o filtration tablets
2 ample bottles of water
4 days’ worthy of non-perishable snacks (cereal bars, crackers, flapjack benignant things)
a artillery and solar-powered radio
a artillery and solar-powered torch
a representation and compass
a tiny code publication containing my loved ones’ location addresses.

I’m a UK botanist, and I was successful the mountains looking astatine plants successful Portugal erstwhile the powerfulness outage occurred. The apical point is simply a portable star recharger. So overmuch of the accusation we person is carried connected our mobile phones. Also, the internet/reception conscionable doesn’t spell down, it flickers connected and off. This is indispensable for uncovering retired what has happened, planning, oregon to fto radical cognize you’re OK.

Cash. There are nary moving cards oregon cashpoints, truthful you volition request to bargain nutrient and a vessel of h2o with cash.

Good shoes oregon boots. You whitethorn request to acceptable disconnected connected ft for sizeable distances.

Light. Darkness tin go unsafe with unlit stairs, streets, oregon conscionable to support your sanity.

A consciousness of escapade and humour. Reconnecting with the mundane realities of Europeans who lived conscionable a fewer generations agone and feeling grateful for the comforts we present instrumentality for granted is simply a humbling experience.

I made it retired of the mountains OK but a disquieted spouse was waiting for me. AstridCardamine

In 2003, I happened to beryllium successful New York connected the time of the large northbound eastbound blackout. I’d been to a league and was owed to alert backmost to the UK that evening. I was 1 of the past to get done information and into the departure lounge: arsenic I walked in, the lights went retired and the toilets, taps and tills each stopped working. Passengers were mutually supportive, sharing food, drink, phonecards, empathy and information.

So my prep would be: gut-feeling, kindness, hope, things to stock and a bully book. WoollyAphid

So they’re acceptable astatine hand, I would suggest panic, despair, calm, ennui, lust. theteedeehoo

Toilet roll. Lots and tons of toilet roll. Dorkalicious

I person a mates of flexible lamps that came with a star sheet astir the size of a paperback publication – brilliant. Hours of airy for astir an hr of nonstop sun. Fit easy successful a backpack. Probably not overmuch bully during a atomic winter, but past thing other is going to be, either. Has anyone mentioned chocolate? gardenerofearth

Dark chocolate, 78%, and saccharine popcorn. (While we’re astatine it, Jaffa Cakes, Pringles, washed down with Hula Hoops.) My endurance database is precise …involved. EmmaStone

As a Californian with a hefty and evolving earthquake kit, don’t hide cash! Also, erstwhile a year, reappraisal your prep stash and swap retired expiring food, batteries, meds etc. jgurrrl

A petrol oregon diesel-powered car. An space grinder, truthful I tin chopped my mode retired of the lift. wyrcommunity

I’m from Canada. Whenever determination is simply a tempest with upwind oregon ice, we capable our h2o jugs, pots and bathtubs and get retired the supplies. We person a woodstove to support america warm, navigator connected and melt snow. We besides support our camping cogwheel adjacent astatine hand, truthful we tin marque java with our pitchy boil. We person star powerfulness banks and lights arsenic good arsenic battery-operated options. And a gas-powered generator. And beer. marmalily

There’s nary request to bash immoderate “prepping”, permission the preppers to enactment retired their doomy extremity of days stuff, and privation them good successful their bunkers. bricklayersoption